The present invention is hereby cross-referenced to the three related claimed inventions entitled Heuchera xe2x80x98Canyon Bellexe2x80x99 (Ser. No. 09/203,862), Heuchera xe2x80x98Canyon Duetxe2x80x99 (Ser. No. 09/203,861), and Heuchera xe2x80x98Canyon Chimesxe2x80x99 (Ser. No. 09/203,864) which all four together resulted from the same breeding program as herein described.
This new cultivar Heuchera is the result of a long-term, controlled breeding program that was conducted by Dara Emery, Plant Breeder at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden (SBBG), from the early 1980s until his death in 1992. xe2x80x98Canyon Melodyxe2x80x99 is a hybrid of female or seed parent Heuchera xe2x80x98Canyon Pinkxe2x80x99 (unpatented) and the male or pollen parent Heuchera elegans (unpatented).
The objective of this breeding program was to select for compact, floriferous forms of Heuchera that were more diminutive than other forms in the nursery trade. Plants that exhibited an overall dwarf stature of low growing, mounding foliage and flowers that are similarly proportioned were selected from the various crosses made. At least one of the parents had to be a native California species, in keeping with the overall mission of SBBG""s breeding program to develop garden-worthy plants from the state""s native flora. In this case, H. elegans is the California native; it has white-pink flowers and was used for its compact size. Heuchera xe2x80x98Canyon Pinkxe2x80x99 is an earlier selection bred by Mr. Emery that is an F1 hybrid of Heuchera elegans and a hybrid form of Heuchera sanguinea, the latter being an Arizonan species that is much larger in habit and used for its red flowers. xe2x80x98Canyon Pinkxe2x80x99 had proven itself to be an outstanding cultivar, and the breeder wanted to continue using it in subsequent crosses.
The closest comparison plants are the female or seed parent Heuchera xe2x80x98Canyon Pinkxe2x80x99 and the male or pollen parent Heuchera elegans. xe2x80x98Canyon Melodyxe2x80x99 is distinguishable from xe2x80x98Canyon Pinkxe2x80x99 by its more compact habit, smaller foliage and shorter flower stalks. xe2x80x98Canyon Melodyxe2x80x99 is distinguishable from Heuchera elegans by its medium pink calyx color.
The cultivar was first and subsequently asexually reproduced by the inventor at the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden in Santa Barbara, Calif. by vegetative cuttings. Tip cuttings 2 to 3 inches long were put in flats of medium grade perlite and placed in a lath house mist bed with bottom heat and intermittent mist of de-ionized water. All plants so obtained exhibited identical characteristics, which were true to the original plant.
A closely related cultivar is the variety Heuchera xe2x80x98Canyon Pinkxe2x80x99 (unpatented), which was selected by the inventor at an earlier stage in the breeding program and introduced to commerce. It is referred to and described herein as a comparison variety but is not the subject of any claim.
The features that together distinguish this cultivar from other Heuchera cultivars are as follows:
1. Compact habit.
2. The flowers with medium pink calyces and exerted white petals.